1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing documents wherein a variable-position or adjustable document storage device is secured to a document sorter with its storage trays of the device adjacent to and below the associated sorter pockets.
2. Prior Art
In the processing of checks and other documents, it is frequently desirable to have a plurality of bins or pockets, each of which is associated with different characteristics of the documents. A document sorter (or document processor) reads indicia on the document to determine in which bin or pocket to place that document. For example, a bank sorting the checks that it has received one day may be interested in sorting the checks that are drawn on another in-town bank into a second pocket out-of-town checks into a third pocket and checks on which the indicia cannot be properly read into another pocket. As these pockets fill up at various rates, an operator typically moves the checks from the pockets into an associated tray for temporary storage. Ideally, these storage trays should be aligned with the associated sorter pocket to make the operators job both easier and minimize the chance of mistakenly putting checks into the wrong storage tray.
There is an advantage to positioning storage trays both below the check processor and at an acute angle with respect to the vertical plane. By moving the documents downward (rather than up), the operator inherently has the advantage of gravity and is less likely to drop the checks. By placing them at an acute or inclined angle with respect to the vertical, the operator can more easily and conveniently see the documents being placed into the tray and can perform the necessary pocket and tray association. An inclined angle with respect to the horizontal urges the documents into a more uniformly stacked arrangement (a neater stack).
IBM sells its IBM Model 3890 document processor which includes a sorter and has a plurality of sorter pockets with storage bins located above the individual pockets. As long as the vertical height of the processor is low enough to allow convenient access to this overhead space, such storage provides an acceptable approach to document processing. However, some sorters stand taller than others. For example, the IBM 3892 document processor positions the top surface of its pockets at approximately 60 inches above the floor level before any storage trays are mounted on top of it. This height effectively precludes the placement of additional storage trays on top of the processor because of the relative difficulty a short operator would have in reaching such trays and because of work place safety considerations which dictate objects which might fall should not be positioned above workers' heads.
Some have suggested placing storage trays in front of the document processor and on a separate cart. For example, design Pat. No. Des. 267,594 to Elmer Ogg and assigned to System Unlimited, Inc. shows one such arrangement. However, a freely moveable the cart extends some substantial distance in front of the sorter. When the cart and storage trays are in this position, an operator may not be able to reach conveniently the feed path to clear a jam in the check feeding area or to reach even the checks in the pockets. This inability of the operator to conveniently reach important operational elements (namely the check feed path and pockets) is a limitation in the prior art system.
This arrangement as shown in the Ogg patent is also inherently fixed in design and does not accommodate different sized operators. That is, a tall operator may find that the document tray is too low or a short operator may find that the document tray is too high.
The moveable cart of this design does not maintain an inherently fixed alignment between the storage trays and the sorter pockets--i.e., the cart, being completely separate from the sorter, can be moved independently of the sorter. That is, the cart and its tray could be moved left or right and the storage trays could appear to be aligned with a sorter pocket to which the trays are, in fact, not associated. This could lead to improper unloading of the sorter pockets into the wrong storage tray. This misalignment and resulting improper unloading could result when the document cart has been removed to clear a jam and the tray is moved back into the wrong position, for example.
Design Pat. No. Des. 273,546 shows another separate storage rack for supporting checks. It is neither fixed to a sorter nor shows a relationship to being in a sorter. Design Pat. No. Des. 261,668 shows a tray usable in the previously mentioned design patents and in connection with the present invention.
Accordingly, the prior art sorters have inherent disadvantages and limitations.